Text of the NASA and JPL 50th Anniversary Commemorative Coin Act

This bill was introduced in a previous session of Congress and was passed by the House on July 12, 2005 but was never passed by the Senate. The text of the bill below is as of Jul 13, 2005 (Referred to Senate Committee).

July 13, 2005

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs

AN ACT

To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the `NASA and JPL 50th Anniversary Commemorative Coin Act'.

SEC. 2. COIN SPECIFICATIONS.

(a) Denominations- In commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the Secretary of the Treasury (hereafter in this Act referred to as the `Secretary) shall mint and issue the following coins:

(1) $50 GOLD COINS- Not more than 50,000 $50 gold coins which shall--

(A) weigh 33.931 grams;

(B) have a diameter of 32.7 millimeters; and

(C) contain 1 troy ounce of fine gold.

(2) $1 SILVER COINS- Not more than 400,000 $1 coins of each of the 9 designs specified in section 3(a)(3)(B), which shall--

(A) weigh 26.73 grams;

(B) have a diameter of 1.500 inches; and

(C) contain 90 percent silver and 10 percent copper.

(b) Legal Tender- The coins minted under this Act shall be legal tender, as provided in section 5103 of title 31, United States Code.

(c) Numismatic Items- For purposes of section 5134 of title 31, United States Code, all coins minted under this Act shall be considered to be numismatic items.

SEC. 3. DESIGN OF COINS.

(a) Design Requirements-

(1) IN GENERAL- The design of the coins minted under this Act shall be emblematic of the 50 years of exemplary and unparalleled achievements of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

(2) DESIGNATION AND INSCRIPTIONS- On each coin minted under this Act there shall be--

(A) a designation of the value of the coin;

(B) an inscription of the year `2008'; and

(C) inscriptions of the words `Liberty', `In God We Trust', `United States of America', and `E Pluribus Unum', and such other inscriptions as the Secretary may determine to be appropriate for the designs of the coins.

(3) COIN IMAGES-

(A) $50 COINS-

(i) OBVERSE- The obverse of the $50 coins issued under this Act shall bear an image of the sun.

(ii) REVERSE- The reverse of the $50 coins issued under this Act shall bear a design emblematic of the sacrifice of the United States astronauts who lost their lives in the line of duty over the course of the space program.

(iii) EDGE- The edge of the $50 coins issued under this Act shall bear the names and dates of the spacecraft missions on which United States astronauts lost their lives over the course of the space program.

(iv) HIGH RELIEF- The design and inscriptions on the obverse and reverse of the $50 coins issued under this Act shall be in high relief.

(B) $1 COINS-

(i) OBVERSE- The obverse of the $1 coins issued under this Act shall bear 9 different designs each of which shall consist of an image of 1 of the 9 planets of the solar system, including Earth.

(ii) REVERSE- The reverse of the $1 coins issued under this Act shall bear different designs each of which shall be emblematic of discoveries and missions of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory to the planet depicted on the obverse of the coin, subject to the following requirements:

(I) EARTH COIN- The reverse of the $1 coins issued under this Act which bear an image of the Earth on the obverse shall bear images emblematic of, and honoring, the discoveries and missions of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Mercury, Gemini and Space Shuttle missions and other manned Earth-orbiting missions, and the Apollo missions to the Moon.

(II) JUPITER COIN- The reverse of the $1 coins issued under this Act which bear an image of the planet Jupiter on the obverse shall include a scientifically accurate depiction of the Galilean moon Europa and depict both a past and future mission to Europa.

(III) SATURN COIN- The reverse of the $1 coins issued under this Act which bear an image of the planet Saturn on the obverse shall include a scientifically accurate depiction of the moon Titan and depict both a past and a future mission to Titan.

(IV) PLUTO COIN- The reverse of the $1 coins issued under this Act which bear an image of the planet Pluto on the obverse shall include a design that is emblematic of telescopic exploration of deep space by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the ongoing search for Earth-like planets orbiting other stars.

(iii) EDGE- It is the sense of the Congress that, to the extent practicable, the edge of each $1 coin should bear the names and dates or range of dates of missions or mission types to the planet depicted on the obverse.

(4) REALISTIC AND SCIENTIFICALLY ACCURATE DEPICTIONS- The images for the designs of coins issued under this Act shall be selected on the basis of the realism and scientific accuracy of the images and on the extent to which the images are reminiscent of the dramatic and beautiful artwork on coins of the so-called `Golden Age of Coinage' in the United States, at the beginning of the Twentieth Century, with the participation of such noted sculptors and medallic artists as James Earle Fraser, Augustus Saint-Gaudens, Victor David Brenner, Adolph A. Weinman, Charles E. Barber, and George T. Morgan.

(b) Selection- The design for the coins minted under this Act shall be--

(1) selected by the Secretary after consultation with the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Director of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and the Commission of Fine Arts; and

(2) reviewed by the Citizens Coin Advisory Committee.

SEC. 4. SYMBOLIC INCLUSION OF METALS THAT HAVE FLOWN IN SPACE.

(a) Collection- Each Federal agency and instrumentality of the United States, including the Department of Defense, the Smithsonian Institution, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, that has in its possession any craft, or any part of a craft, that flew in space shall--

(1) retrieve such gold, silver, copper, and other metals that the Director of the United States Mint determines are appropriate for use in the production of any coins under this Act, from such craft or part, that can be retrieved without harming any such craft or part that may be of continuing use for its original purpose or for research, or whose preservation is appropriate for historical purposes; and

(2) deposit such metals so retrieved with the Director of the United States Mint.

(b) Use of Metals in Production of Coins- Any metals deposited with the Director of the United States Mint under subsection (a) shall be used in the production of the coins struck under this Act by blending such metals with other metal necessary for the production of such coins so that all of the coins produced under this Act will contain some proportion of the bullion obtained from craft or parts of crafts that flew in space in an amount appropriate for the types and denominations of the coins and the amount of metals so deposited.

(c) Recordkeeping- It is the sense of the Congress that each Federal agency and instrumentality of the United States which retrieves any metals in accordance with subsection (a) should maintain accurate and complete records of the retrieval and deposit of any such metals sufficient to allow the Director of the United States Mint--

(1) to provide certificates of authenticity with coins issued under this Act that some proportion of the contents of such coins were obtained from craft or parts of crafts that flew in space; and

(2) to package with each issued coin a list of the missions in which such craft flew in space.

(d) Private Spacecraft-

(1) IN GENERAL- Each Federal agency and instrumentality of the United States that has or continues to conduct space-related missions shall, in addition to the efforts described in subsection (a), make efforts to secure and retrieve from privately-held craft that has flown in space such gold, silver, copper and other metals that the Director of the United States Mint determines are appropriate for use in the production of any coins under this Act.

(2) RECORDKEEPING- It is the sense of the Congress that each Federal agency and instrumentality of the United States which retrieves any metals pursuant to paragraph (1) from privately-held craft that has flown in space should comply with the recordkeeping procedures described in subsection (c) with respect to such metal.

SEC. 5. ISSUANCE OF COINS.

(a) Quality of Coins- Coins minted under this Act shall be issued in proof quality only.

(b) Mint Facility- Only 1 facility of the United States Mint may be used to strike any particular combination of denomination and quality of the coins minted under this Act.

(c) Commencement of Issuance- The Secretary may issue coins minted under this Act beginning January 1, 2008.

(d) Termination of Minting Authority- No coins may be minted under this Act after December 31, 2008.

SEC. 6. SALE OF COINS.

(a) Sale Price- The coins issued under this Act shall be sold by the Secretary at a price equal to the sum of--

(1) the face value of the coins;

(2) the surcharge provided in section 7(a) with respect to such coins; and

(3) the cost of designing and issuing the coins (including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, overhead expenses, marketing, and shipping).

(b) Prepaid Orders-

(1) IN GENERAL- The Secretary shall accept prepaid orders for the coins minted under this Act before the issuance of such coins.

(2) DISCOUNT- Sale prices with respect to prepaid orders under paragraph (1) shall be at a reasonable discount.

(c) Presentation- In addition to the issuance of coins under this Act in such other methods of presentation as the Secretary of the Treasury determines to be appropriate, the Secretary shall provide, as a sale option, a presentation case which displays the $50 gold coin in the center surrounded by the $1 silver coins in an elliptical orbit.

SEC. 7. SURCHARGES.

(a) In General- All sales of coins minted under this Act shall include a surcharge as follows:

(1) A surcharge of $50 per coin for the $50 coin.

(2) A surcharge of $10 per coin for the $1 coin.

(b) Distribution- Subject to section 5134(f) of title 31, United States Code, all surcharges received by the Secretary from the sale of coins issued under this Act shall be promptly distributed as follows:

(1) The first $1,000,000 available for distribution under this section, to the NASA Family Assistance Fund for the purposes of providing need-based financial assistance to the families of NASA personnel who die as a result of injuries suffered in the performance of their official duties.

(2) Of amounts available for distribution after the payment under paragraph (1), 1/2 to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution for the preservation, maintenance, and display of space artifacts at the National Air and Space Museum (including the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center).

(3) Of amounts available for distribution after the payment under paragraph (1), 1/2 to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution for the express purpose of providing funding for the establishment of a new stand-alone National Museum of Money.

(c) Audits- The NASA Family Assistance Fund and the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution shall be subject to the audit requirements of section 5134(f)(2) of title 31, United States Code, with regard to the amounts received under subsection (b).

(d) Limitation- Notwithstanding subsection (a), no surcharge may be included with respect to the issuance under this Act of any coin during a calendar year if, as of the time of such issuance, the issuance of such coin would result in the number of commemorative coin programs issued during such year to exceed the annual 2 commemorative coin program issuance limitation under section 5112(m)(1) of title 31, United States Code (as in effect on the date of the enactment of this Act). The Secretary of the Treasury may issue guidance to carry out this subsection.

SEC. 8. BRONZE DUPLICATES.

The Secretary may strike and sell bronze duplicates of the $50 gold coins authorized under this Act, at a price the Secretary determines to be appropriate.